


Surprise for the End of the World

by kuro49



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Long-Distance Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-09 19:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1994862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro49/pseuds/kuro49
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hercules Hansen and Yancy Becket down the road.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprise for the End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> For Ka, who wanted a continuation of [Cause for Celebration](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1038685). My original vision was: skype sex. Because this is me, that obviously didn’t happen.

The end of the world is no time to start a relationship.

As the Jaeger pilots on the front lines, soldiers of a different war than all the ones that came before a fissure opening in the deepest part of the ocean, this goes for them just as well.

But Yancy’s never had great timing, and Herc’s never had a relationship that didn’t last a decade and then some. Manila is their starting point, their first point of contact in a war seemingly without end. With a couple of spiked longnecks that had the two of them falling into the same bed, a night they can’t remember and a morning they can’t forget.

Waking up naked with a fellow pilot might not be new but it is novel to them both when that extends to this.

And this is them at two ends of the same ocean.

 

“Your phone’s lighting up like a Christmas tree again, Herc.”

Scott calls out as soon as his brother walks in.

There is no Kaiju projected for at least another month, and the boys over in K-Science have the math down to an art by now. With Vulcan Specter and Echo Saber stationed in Sydney for the time being, Striker’s temporary pilots are sent off to Kodiak Island.

The metal door shuts behind him, and Herc is greeted by the sight of Scott with his feet kicked up on the edge of the bottom bunk, flight suit shoved carelessly into his boots, and the faded wings of Lucky Seven’s emblem stretched across the span of his back.

“Yancy’s awake then.”

And Herc can’t help when his mouth curls easily into the customary Hansen smile, the twist of his lips that isn’t a grimace (or so Yance has told him). He is stripped down to a wife beater and sweatpants, having just come back from the Kwoon to spar with Chuck. The sprog who is in the last trimester of the program, and still refuses to talk to him even when they have both proven their drift compatibility in and out of the simulators.

“I can’t believe you’re doing it.”

Scott’s voice distracts from where Herc’s eyes are trained on the typo-ridden morning texts, which should probably read _g’day mate_ and _woke up to the sight of Rals stupid abs again_.

“Doing what, Scotty?”

“Y’know, a long distance relationship.”

Herc puts down his phone and looks over to his brother, daring him to say the thing that he wants, adding dryly. “No thanks to you.”

“I’m just sayin’,” Herc watches as Scott just drops the smile that has the Jaeger flies more than eager, shrugging his shoulders like he genuinely wishes he knows differently, “It’s not gonna be easy.”

Hercules can’t help but scoff at that, “Is anything ever easy nowadays?”

Scott lets out a faint laugh, gestures to the phone that has begun flashing once more and stands up. “I’ll give you a lil’privacy.”

Before the door closes behind him, Herc can hear the mutter of _God knows there’s not enough of that ‘round here_ underneath Scott’s breath.

 

That morning after MN-19 goes down under the efforts of three Jaegers, Hercules pulls Yancy on top of him and kisses him. The sheets end up kicked off of the end of the bed, and for a better part of the day, they don’t leave the room at all.

When orders come down, they go home.

And home is another Shatterdome, Sydney for Herc and Lima for Yancy.

There’s nothing like a promise.

In fact, there’s nothing but a brief wave on Yancy’s part from across the helipad where Herc only notices at the last second. When they take off, Yancy is distracted by Raleigh and Herc is just concerned that Scott might end up puking next to him. It is not until Herc is back in his own ‘dome that he notices the single message already sent.

The number’s not one he recognizes but one his phone already has a contact for.

Herc doesn’t know when Gipsy’s pilot had the time to input his contact information into his phone but he did. And he can’t believe he is willing to give this a try but this is not the stupidest thing he’s done. Hell, this doesn’t even come in the top ten of that list.

The end of the world is no time for a relationship but he is replying Yancy Becket’s text message of: _did u kno sydney is 15 hrs ahead of lima??_

 

Through Yancy’s station from Lima to Anchorage, they keep this up.

Messages that have their phones vibrating at odd hours, international calls when time zones permit, and video chats through PPDC’s private channels that have the two of them wishing for more than just their own hands.

The first time Herc answers one of Yancy’s video chats to the sight of him stripped down to nothing but his underwear, Herc nearly drops the tablet on the ground.

“…Surprise?”

It is not the flush of slight embarrassment extending all the way down to Yancy’s chest that has Herc swallowing hard. Neither is it the way Yancy barely notices his own nervous habit, the tongue running across his bottom lip and camera moving a little as he ducks his head.

It is that single word coming out as a question when it shouldn’t be.

“Say something before I die of embarrassment here, Herc.”

“…Give a guy a minute,” Hercules rasps out and knows himself to be utterly fucked with how charmed he is right now by Yancy Becket sitting there cross-legged in a bunk looking too much like Herc’s own.

He doesn’t think he fares well when Yancy’s mouth pulls into a slow smirk, coming to realization of just exactly the kind of influence he’s got on Herc.

 

“You know that Herc’s at the Academy, right?”

The Becket boys are sitting in LOCCENT, Yancy on the right and Raleigh on the left, sharing a box of half a dozen bagels resting on the console. Tendo’s question doesn’t take anyone off guard, Yancy and Herc’s relationship, while not on the front page of every magazine yet, is hardly a secret among Shatterdome staff.

Yancy nods, mouth too full of bread to answer, gesturing to his phone where Herc has just replied to another one of his text. While Herc’s not quick with his responses, most of which are short and clipped anyway, Yancy can’t help the feeling that would settle. He doesn’t have the words to describe it. Just that it is a feeling that has him fumbling for his phone in the dark to send off a short message in the middle of the night to make up for the 18 hours time difference between Sydney and Anchorage.

“You’re already sending him good morning texts, what’s an hour and a half?”

Raleigh adds, having just stolen one of the four steaming cups of coffee from their chief LOCCENT officer. Tendo who is sitting at his console just pulls the three remaining cups closer to himself as he raises an eyebrow at the other half of Gipsy Danger.

“Yeah, lover boy, surprise him for real this time.”

Yancy resolutely does not choke on his bagel, “How’d you—”

“Goes to show I don’t need to be in either of the Becket boys’ brains to know exactly what goes on in your heads.” Tendo grins and it’s a wicked, wicked thing when he bumps his fist to Raleigh’s. “I’ve still got the touch.”

The two of them are laughing but Tendo promises to cover for them when the Marshal asks and Raleigh sweet talks one of Gipsy’s Jumphawk crews into giving them a lift to Kodiak Island, sitting at an hour and a half flight time from the Anchorage ‘dome.

 

The end of the world’s no time to start a relationship, and definitely not a long distance one at that.

Herc steps away from Scott on the Kwoon mats. Scott, who has been grinning his shit-eating grin for the last two points he’s lost to Herc in their demonstration of compatibility for the new recruits standing around, still so green behind their ears and not at all ready.

Scott, who is now nodding at someone behind Herc’s back, and there are only so many choices as he turns to see who—

They don’t count the days since Manila.

Or the number of texts and minutes since.

But damn, if this doesn’t feel good when Herc can cross that final distance between them and it’s not their own hands they’ve got for company but one another in their entirety. His mouth warm against his own, his arms coming to wrap tight around his neck, the press of his skin hot to his.

It’s not quite like that morning back in Manila because now he knows him as more than just a sad hero. And in turn, he knows what’s beneath the all American golden boy that walked up to him with two longnecks dripping with condensation and a single syllable of _huh_ as a greeting.

They pull back, barely a breath apart, and Yancy’s grin is wide enough to make the corners of Herc’s mouth ache in a way he wants to keep.

Except, this time, there’s no hesitation when he says.

“Surprise.”

 

XXX Kuro


End file.
